What is MasterPlanner?

MasterPlanner™ is an AddIn or application (App)
that adds functionality to Bentley Systems
MicroStation® CONNECT.
It's a tool for architects, landscape designers and site planners.

MicroStation®, created by
Bentley Systems,
helps you to design, analyse, and present 3D models and 2D designs.
MicroStation stores your models and designs in a DGN file.

We often want to create reports about DGN graphic elements.
For example, suppose your job is to plan a development project.
You want to know information about the way you've allocate the spaces to different types of land use.
You might ask questions similar to the following …

What's the size of this parking lot (in acres)?

Tell me the area of each Parcel in my site plan.

How many buildings will each Parcel accommodate?

What is the perimeter of each Parcel?

I need an area report in both hectares (for customers in Paris) and acres (for customers in New York).

This is where you will discover MasterPlanner™ to be indispensible.

MasterPlanner: a tool for Architects, Engineers and Site Planners

MasterPlanner™
works with MicroStation CONNECT to help annotate, measure and report land use in your DGN models.

MasterPlanner™ is the answer to common questions posed by MicroStation CONNECT users …

MasterPlanner™ works with
technology introduced with MicroStation CONNECT to annotate and update object measurements.

Area Measurements

MasterPlanner
lets you annotate a parcel (also known as an area feature).
A parcel is represented by a DGN element as a DGN shape or complex shape element.
More exactly, MasterPlanner works with planar closed shapes in a 2D or 3D DGN model.
MasterPlanner uses MicroStation Text Fields to create smart labels.
MicroStation observes changes to the area and updates the parcel's annotation label automatically.

In the example above, you can see the following labels created by MasterPlanner …

Parcel 101 is the user-assigned ID.
It's created from the MasterPlannerID property

Residential is the user-assigned Land Use.
It's created from an MasterPlannerLand Use property

60.77m2 is the parcel's area.
It's created from the shape element's Area property.
The area label is a text field and updates automatically if you modify the shape it references.

Using Alternative Metrics

By 'Alternative Metrics' we mean the ability to label an area using both the DGN model master units (e.g. metres²)
and an alternative unit (e.g. hectares).
MasterPlanner lets you choose to use an alternative metric in addition to the default DGN model master unit.
Here's an example …

MasterPlanner Item Data

MasterPlanner uses several properties from its MicroStation Item Types schema to annotate an object …

Object ID

MasterPlanner helps you to annotate object IDs. If you are annotating Parcels
you may want a consistently-numbered Parcel ID. For example, Parcel numbering in your current model may start
with Parcel 100 and continue in increments of five.
What's more, you can add explanatory text around the ID,
so your sequence would look something like
Parcel 100, Parcel 105, …, Parcel 125, Parcel 130.

The ID is invaluable when creating a report or table.
The ID provides a visual reference to the tagged object.

Area Type

You can designate an area to represent an Enclosure or a Void.

For example, a conference hall might be tagged as an Enclosure.
Pillars within that hall might be tagged as Void.
A report or calculation could evaluate the net area of the hall as its area less the area of all voids.

Land Use

MasterPlanner helps you to explain the Land Use of an object. If you are annotating Parcels
you may want to describe Parcels as amenity, residential, school etc..
MasterPlanner's Land Use tag lets you assign a Land Use to an object.

The Land Use is invaluable when creating a report or table.
The Land Use property provides a way to classify similar types of object,
and filter and sort reports.

The screenshot above shows MasterPlanner's Tool Settings for Labelling.
The text fields show the values assigned to the target area.
The toggle buttons let you choose to include or omit
data from the labels you create.
For example, you might choose to show just the ID, or perhaps the ID and the Area.

Building Density

Use the Building Density property to specify the number of building per unit area in a Parcel.
MasterPlanner records the value per area and uses to calculate the number of buildings achievable in that area.

Building Count

The Building Count property is calculated automatically.
It's the area of the feature multiplied by the building density that you provide.

What Happens if I Delete a Label?

With MasterPlanner a label is just a label.
It reflects the underlying Item Data attached to a DGN element.

If you delete a label, the Item Data remains attached to the DGN element.
If you use MasterPlanner's
tag command,
the Item Data is once more visible in the new label.

How do I delete Item data?

If you want to remove the Item data that underpins an MasterPlanner label,
then use the AREA TAG REMOVE command.

When you remove the Item data, MasterPlanner automatically deletes its label,

Automatic Update

The annotation labels you create with MasterPlanner update themselves when you modify the
host shape.
That is, when you use one of MicroStation's built-in tools to edit or modify a labelled shape,
you see the new measurement displayed automatically in the label.

MasterPlanner Reports & Tables

MasterPlanner creates one or two Report definitions when you install it.
You can modify those Reports and add more Reports that match your requirements.
You can read more about MasterPlannerreports and tables.
From a Report, you can create a table for placement as a DGN graphic element.
To create a table from a Report, use the tools that MicroStation provides.

Annotating Multiple Objects

MasterPlanner™ includes a tool to tag multiple objects with
the MasterPlannerItem Types.
The bulk tagging tool searches a DGN model for shapes on a named level.
When it tags a shape, MasterPlanner creates a label to provide a visual clue
that the element is annotated.

The MasterPlannerID, which is visible in the label, is auto-incremented for each shape.
For example, if your ID takes the form Parcel 101, then subsequent labels will be
Parcel 102, Parcel 103, Parcel 104 …etc.

MasterPlanner Key-In Commands

The MicroStation key-in to start MasterPlanner is mdl load MasterPlanner

Once loaded, MasterPlanner provides a number of key-ins that are detailed
here.

MasterPlanner Settings

Download MasterPlanner

Visit the
download page to register your
interest in MasterPlanner CONNECT Edition and download the installer.

License Terms

LA Solutions' MasterPlanner™ CONNECT Edition is licensed software.
When you first install MasterPlanner™ CONNECT Edition we grant you automatically
a 30-day evaluation license.
To continue using MasterPlanner™ CONNECT Edition you must purchase a license.
You may purchase one license, multiple licenses or a site license.
Discounts are available for multiple license purchases.

What's Coming in MasterPlanner CONNECT Edition?

Many of you have asked for aggregation tools.
That is, if you have annotated a floor plan, for example, you want to how many
offices are on that plan and their total area.
MasterPlanner's Aggregation tools will let you obtain exactly that information.
Here's a preview of technology that continues to evolve …